CRUCIAL EVENT AT SARNO WHERE THE EURO WSK CHAMPS WILL BE DECIDED. CRG-MAXTER BATTLES FOR THE TROPHY IN KF3 WITH VERSTAPPEN AND IN KZ1 WITH THONON
GREAT EXPECTATIONS FOR THE LAST EVENT OF THE SEASON. THE CRG OFFICIAL TEAM IS THE FAVOURITE ONE FOR THE WIN IN TWO CHAMPIONSHIPS ON FOUR, IN KF3 AND KZ1. CRG’S DRIVERS ARE READY FOR A GREAT PERFORMANCE ALSO IN SUPER KF AND IN KF2 WITH MICHELLE GATTING.
Desenzano del Garda (Brescia – Italy), 1st June 2010. The great show of International karting of the Euro WSK ends this weekend on the International Circuit Napoli at Sarno (Italy) with the fifth and last event of the season. There are still four championships to be assigned in the KF1, KF2, KZ1 and Super KF categories. The CRG-Maxter official team stands great chances in two of these championships: with the young talent Max Verstappen in KF3 and Jonathan Thonon – who has already been World Champion more than once – in KZ1.
With the start of the free practice on Wednesday 2nd of June, the final rush of this great championship begins: a championship uncertain and gripping until the end, with lots of young promising drivers and the strongest champions at international level.
After the four first events, the two Italian ones at Muro Leccese (3rd March) and Lonato (28th March), and those in Spain and Belgium (Zuera – 18th April and Genk – 9th May), only the last laps on the track of Sarno on Sunday 6th June will decide the winners of the first edition of the WSK Euro Series.
The young talent Max Verstappen (who will be 13 on next 30th September) is the favourite driver for the final win in KF3. He just needs four points between final and pre-final to put his hands on this title too, after winning in the past years all the Belgian and Dutch junior championships he took part in.
This year, Max Verstappen (son of the former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, who was an excellent kart driver too and who was 100 ICA European Champion in 1989) has been performing at terrific levels, winning 5 of the 8 races (finals and pre-finals) he has run so far: he achieved a double win at Muro Leccese, a success at Lonato and – again – a double win at Zuera. In the last double race of Sarno, with 65 points to be assigned, Verstappen can just control his competitors and administer his 62 points advantage over the runner-up, the English driver Alexander Albon.
In the most powerful category too, the KZ1, CRG’s goal is the conquest of the title in the top category with gear shift. The Italian firm has played a leading role since the very beginning of the season, thanks to its performing chassis and the reliability of the Maxter engine. With the double undisputed win achieved on the last race on the track of Genk, Thonon is now the new leader of the Euro WSK ranking with an advantage of 25 points over the Dutch driver Bas Lammers. They are the only two competitors left for the final win. So, the KZ1 championship will be decided on the track of Sarno and it is on this very circuit that Jonathan Thonon last year won the KZ1 World Cup for the third time in a row. Thonon will be able to count on the help of the American driver Gary Carlton, who is rather familiar with the southern Italy circuit and who was among the protagonists of last year’s World Cup.
In Super KF at Sarno CRG will be focused on the set up of the engine, because of the next events of the new series WSK World, due to start next 3rd of July on the circuit of Portimao in Portugal.
In this event too, the reigning world champion Arnaud Kozlinski will be the standard bearer for CRG together with Davide Forè, Felice Tiene and Eddy Tinini.
In KF2 the end of the season is mainly focused on Michelle Gatting, top driver of the CRG Junior Team and brilliant protagonist of the present season. The Danish girl has just come back from her great third place in the Asian Pacific Championship held in Japan, and this time she can achieve an outstanding position in the championship. She is fourth in the general ranking, 22 points under the third (her country-mate Moller) and 30 points under the second (her other country-mate Nortoft)
TV. The two Super KF and KZ1 finals will be broadcast live on TV (channel RAI Sport 2) from 02.45 pm to 04.00 pm.
The WSK Euro Series programme of Sarno (Salerno – Italy) – International Circuit Napoli:
Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd June: 8:20am-06:45pm free practice.
Friday 4th June: 8:20am-02:05pm free practice; 03:00pm-05:10pm time practice. Saturday 5th June: 8:20am-10:00am warm-up; 10:20am-10:30am Superpole Super KF; 10:40am-18:00pm qualifying heats. Sunday 6th June: 8:00am-09:40am warm-up; 09:50am-11:10am qualifying heats; 11:10am second chance heats KZ1-KZ2; 11:30am drivers presentation; 12:30pm pre-finals (SKF, KZ1-KZ2, KF3, KF2); 02:45pm finals (SKF, KZ1-KZ2, KF3, KF2) and prize-giving ceremony; 05:00pm press conference.
WSK EURO SERIES. CHAMPIONSHIP RANKINGS AFTER FOUR EVENTS:
KZ1: 1. Thonon (B) points 187; 1. Lammers (NL) 162; 3. Abbasse (F) 104; 4. Dreezen (B) 95; 5. Iglesias (F) 91; 6. Renaudie (F) e Toninelli (I) 55; 8. Pex (NL) 49; 9. Piccoli (I) 45; 10. Nato (F) 40.
KZ2: 1. De Conto (I) p. 235; 2. Visser (NL) 134; 3. Jeleniowski (D) 88; 4. Midrla (CZ) 86; 5. Fuchs (PL) 80; 6. Pex Yard (NL) 73; 7. Johansson (S) 60; 8. Garcia (E) 47; 9. Georgiev (BG) 40; 10 Davies (NL9 e Dalmau (E) 27.
SUPER KF: 1. Convers (F) points 194; 2. De Vries (NL) 171; 3. Ardigò (I) 153; 4. Catt (GB) 88; 5. Cesetti (I) 72; 6. Camponeschi (I) 67; 7. Cooper (GB) 63; 8. Kozlinski (F) 60; 9. Puhakka (FIN) 27; 10. Toman (CZ) 26.
KF3: 1. Verstappen (NL) points 220; 2. Albon (GB) 158; 3. Hoevenaars (NL) 108; 4. Visoiu (RO) 53; 5. Spinelli 52; 6. Beer 50; 7. Pakari (FIN) 38; 8. Hubert (F) 37; 9. Ocon 32; 10. Fioravanti (I) 32;.
KF2: 1. D’Agosto (I) points 169; 2. Nortoft (DK) 120; 3. Moller (DK) 112; 4. Gatting (DK) 90; 5. Varley (GB) 73; 6. Basz (PL) 70; 7. Silva (BR) 66; 8. Barrabeig (E) 57; 9. Kanamaru (J) 49; 10. Klinkby (DK) 34.
DRIVERS AND RACE NUMBERS OF THE CRG-MAXTER OFFICIAL TEAM IN THE WSK OF SARNO :
SUPER KF
1 – Arnaud Kozlinski (F) – Bordeaux (F), 8th October 1981. World Champion Super KF 2009. Champion WSK Super KF 2009. Third in the SKF World Cup 2009. Fifth in the KZ1 World Cup 2009. KF1 European runner-up 2008. WSK KF1 runner-up 2008. World Cup Champion FA 2006. 2003 and 2004 World runner-up. French Champion 1999 (ICA) and 2005 (FA). S-ICC European runner-up 1999.
4 – Felice Tiene (I) – San Giuseppe Vesuviano (I), 14th December 1991. Asia-Pacific Champion KF2 2009. European Selections winner KF2 2007 and 2009. Fourth place in the KF2 World Cup 2008. Third in the Junior European Selections 2006. Third in the Mini Italian Championship 2002.
5 – Davide Forè (I) – Brescia (I), 16th July 1974. KF1 World Cup winner 2008. World Champion 1998 (FSA), 2000 (FSA), 2004 (FA), 2006 (FA). World Cup winner S-ICC 2006. FA European Champion 1994.
6 – Eddy Tinini (I) – Lonato (I), 14th December 1985. Super KF World Cup finalist Suzuka 2009. KF2 Mundialito Canario KF2 winner 2008. Bridgestone Cup ICA winner 2006.
KZ1
103 – Jonathan Thonon (B) – Waterloo (B), 22nd October 1986. World Champion KZ1 2007, 2008 and 2009. Third in the 2009 KZ1 European Champ. 2008 KZ1 European Champion. Third in WSK KZ2 2008. Runner-up in the 2007 European KZ1 Champ. WSK Champion in KZ2 2007. World Cup S-ICC runner-up 2006. WSK FA runner-up 2006. European Champion ICA 2002. Belgian and French Champion ICA 2002. Winner European Sel. ICA 2002. Belgian Junior Champion 2001.
162 – Gary Carlton (USA) – Marysville, California (USA), 3/5/86. USA Champion 2007 and 2009 in KZ2, 2006 in the ICC. 2006 Champion of Las Vegas Supernationals. 13th in the KZ1 European Championship in 2008, 6thin the KZ2 European Championship in 2007.
KF2
217 – Giovanni Martinez (I) – Alghero (I), 1st May 1993. Participation in the WSK 2009 and European Selections 2009 in KF2. Fourth in the Italian Championship 100 Junior 2008.
KF3
301 – Max Verstappen (NL) – Hasselt (B), 30th September 1997. Benelux Mini Max and Belgian Rotax Mini Max Champion 2009. Belgian KF5 Champion 2009. Belgian Cadet Champion 2008. Benelux Mini Max Champion 2008. Belgian Rotax Mini Max Champion 2008. Belgian and Dutch Rotax Mini Max Champion 2007. Belgian Mini Champion 2006. Belgian Mini Champion 2005.
302 – Benjamin Gérard (F) – Paris, 10th March 1997. Fourth in the French Cadet Championship 2009. French Champion Mini 2008.
303 – Mario Ziletti (I) – Manerbio (I), 13th September 1995. Seventh in the Regional Championship of Lombardia (Italy) KF3 2009.
